07 January 2005

The Boston Herald follows up on the Al-Qaeda link to Boston-area gangs with a warning from Texas Democrat Rep. Solomon Ortiz that the jihad-connected MS-13 gang, which has now taken over a significant chunk of Boston territory, is "extremely vicious".

Will Boston's liberal establishment be willing to face this threat or will heads stay in the sand? Can they put aside their snooty regional prejudices for a moment and listen to a Texan?

(Boston Herald)A Texas congressman said MS-13 gang members and Middle Eastern aliens are using the border in his district to sneak into the country - and Boston should be worried.

U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz (D-Texas), co-chairman of the House Border Caucus, told the Herald he is ``very concerned'' about al-Qaeda's link to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a gang he described as ``extremely vicious.''

The Herald reported this week that a chapter of MS-13 has taken control of a swath of East Boston, prompting Boston police to create a task force to take down the violent, drug-dealing thugs.

Last month, a Muslim man from Bangladesh, Fakhrul Islam, was arrested alongside a reputed MS-13 gang member and 11 others after the group waded across the Rio Grande into Brownsville, Texas.

The alleged MS-13 member, Francky Sanchez-Solorzano, 21, was arrested and deported back to his native Honduras within days of the Dec. 4 bust, Ortiz said. Islam's status in the country remained unclear.

Attorney General John Ashcroft has publicly said a high-ranking al-Qaeda leader, Adnan El-Shukrijumah, has offered top dollar to infiltrate the United States via the Mexican border.

``Boston should be worried,'' said Ortiz's spokeswoman, Cathy Travis. ``These terrorists and gang members are getting on a bus here in Texas and heading to the East Coast.''

FBI officials steadfastly deny any connection between MS-13 - a brutal, international criminal organization that has thousands of members across the country - and the terrorist al-Qaeda network.

Boston got a civic black eye after September 11 when terrorists used Logan Airport as a launching pad for their attacks. Can it afford to look the other way again?